Thirteenth
Session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the UNFCCCLyon,
France; 4 - 15 September 2000

Highlights from Friday, 15 September

The
first part of the thirteenth sessions of the subsidiary bodies (SB-13) of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was held
from 11-15 September 2000 at the Palais des Congrès in Lyon, France,
preceded by one week of informal meetings from 4-9 September. With over
2000 participants representing 159 Parties, one observer State, 169
observer organizations and the media, delegates to SB-13 and the informal
meetings continued work aimed at fulfilling the Buenos Aires Plan of
Action (BAPA) adopted at the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4) in
November 1998. Under the BAPA, Parties set a two-year deadline to
strengthen FCCC implementation and prepare for the future entry into force
of the Kyoto Protocol. The upcoming Sixth Conference of the Parties
(COP-6), scheduled to take place from 13-24 November 2000, in The Hague,
the Netherlands, will mark the culmination of this two-year process. The
first part of SB-13 closed when the meeting was suspended on 15 September.
It will resume for part II at The Hague in November.

During the informal meetings and the first
part of SB-13, delegates discussed text for decisions covering a range of
technical and political issues, with the aim of preparing for a
comprehensive agreement at COP-6. Delegates adopted draft conclusions on
various issues, including the mechanisms, compliance, policies and
measures (P&Ms), capacity building, technology transfer, land use,
land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), Article 4.8 and 4.9 of the FCCC and
Article 3.14 of the Kyoto Protocol (adverse effects), and guidelines under
Articles 5 (methodological issues), 7 (communication of information) and 8
(review of information) of the Protocol. At part II of SB-13 in November,
delegates will resume consideration of a number of issues, including
national communications and implementation of the Headquarters Agreement.
>> Continued, with photos and RealAudio, on our Negotiations page>>

The
Summary Issue of the ENB's coverage of SB-13, including a brief
analysis is now available in HTML,
ASCII and PDF
format.

ENB on the
side- a special daily report on selected side events from SB-13.